Looking at a 235 with a powerglide, my car has a 216 with a 3 spd manual. My question is powerglide worth messing with and what is it worth alone?
use the 3 speed you got on the 235, will be a little faster?? the engine has a little more power rating with a PG the powerglide will sell for whatever the market will bear, kinda rare nowdays
It is not a powerglide like what most people know of. It is big, heavy, cast iron, and of no value performance wise. back up the 235 with a 5 speed and you're on to something.
I'd run whatever ya got till something breaks then I'd swap in something with more guts and a modern transmission.
when i bought my 54 i was somewhat reluctant to get it cause it had a pg, now i like it. performance i got a 235 stock six how fast am i gonna go anyways??? if you like th ecar go for it
a cast iron pg is of no value?? hmmm alot of high hp drag racers used that trans if my memory is as good as i think it is
Many bracket racers run them because they help ensure consistant et's. However in high HP applications most of the internals and even the case is many times aftermarket along with requiring a very loose converter for a proper launch. In a heavy street car you will be much happier with the extra gear.
swapping just the engine and retaining your old 3 speed (and clutch, flywheel and clutch housing) will be, by far, the easier and most satisfactory swap.
The aluminum case P/G is the one used by the drag racers. I run one in my 26 which sees alot of track time. It is " modestly " built, and designed for the 800-850 H.P./ 700 #ft torque range.
I had a PG in a 1960 6cyl Belair HT. What a turd!!!. It's a heavier car probably but holey **** it was scary trying to get out into traffic. From 1/4 throttle to WOT the speed never changed just the sound of the engine reving changed when it dropped into low gear. It would eventually get up to speed but like a woman only when it felt like it. I wanted to open the door and push with my foot. The PG is a terrible trans for a 6 cyl car if you drive in any traffic at all. IMHO We didn't have half the traffic back then. I can't imagine what it would be like today. I'd recommend trying one first before you take the leap. Modifying them for race applications is a hell of a lot different from a stock street application.
Some of you are confusing the earliest Powerglides with the second generation versions. Absolutely no comparison, hardware wise. The early PG's, while surprisingly durable, were cast iron, very heavy and not very efficient. The last of those were in '62 models behind 235 6's and 283 V8's. The '62 Nova and 327/409 fullsize cars had the new compact, lightweight aluminum case PG which was installed in everything for '63. As stated, that is the ****** that racers adapt, beefed up, for drag cars. Ray
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